On the other hand, a laptop can be the complete opposite of an ultrabook i.e

decent form factor, weight varies anywhere from 1.2 to 3kg or more

Highly configurable

Specifications can be customized, though typically the higher the specification the higher the cost as well as the weight

Standard ports for VGA and LAN is usually present, typically a lot more ports compared to an ultrabook

Decent battery life

I’ve been searching for quite a while for a high specifications laptop which has a small form factor and is light as well as having a backlit keyboard. Yes it sounds very much like a macbook pro and that is actually the kind of hardware that I was trying to replicate with hardware from windows OEM partners.

Finally in late 2012, I finally found it, the HP Folio 9470m!

The specifications found at HP site is inline with what I was looking for, and the best part is that it comes with an external battery to bring it up to 21 hours of usage, a built in 3G/4G modem and a fantastic warranty plan!

16GB of ram, definitely able to run almost all my development and VM workloads, user replaceable too!

Hard Disk

7200RPM 320GB to 500GBSSD 128GB to 240GB

MSATA 256GB

Self encrypting drive options available

Decent hard disk options. However what I like is that its user replaceable, as long as it fits the SATA port and has 7mm heightThere are 2 ports actually, a SATA and a mSATA port, so you can in essence have a 256GB mSATA SSD and a 1TB SATA 7200 RPM HDD. No need to worry about replacing a DVD drive just to get another slot for storage

Screen Size

14” LCD (1366×768)14” HD (1600×900) option available

This seems to be a sweet spot, any smaller it becomes harder to do any form of decent development, any bigger makes it hard to carry around

I like the fact that USB 2 has been totally phased out and its using all USB 3 ports.Update: The charging port is able to charge an IPAD too!Also the presence of full VGA and RJ45 ports are definitely a plus. No need to carry extra wires for those and increase my risk of losing them

Keyboard

Spill resistant backlit keyboard with 2 settings

Definitely a plus, especially when working in dim areas. 2 settings works well too, sometimes I just need a bit of light

Pointing device

Glass touchpad
Point stick

Dual pointing options for those that can’t figure what they want to use

Communications

10/100/1000 NICMultiple WIFI options from Intel, Atheros, Broadcom

3G/4G mobile broadband

The built in 3G/4G mobile broadband option is definitely a very big plus, no need to carry a dongle anymore!Update: for Singapore, only the 3G mode is available and its in a full sized sim form factor

Battery

Replaceable battery (10 hours)External battery (21 hours)

Internal battery sounds great, but having the option of external battery and a 21 hours runtime, definitely allows me to get thru any single day without chargingDo note that as you increase the specs of the machine, battery life will drop accordingly